2017 Dönnhoff Oberhäuser Brücke Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel

Dönnhoff

Germany / Nahe / Dönnhoff

Dönnhoff's monopole directly by the river, on ancient rock with clay slate bedrock, covered by a layer of loess loam. With a perfect microclimate for great noble sweet Riesling wines. Vines aged 25 to 35 years old yield about 20 hl/ha for this wine. 100% selective hand harvest. Fermented and matured in stainless steel vats. A crystal clear, noble sweet Riesling of great aromatic complexity with an elegant mineral acidity.

September, 2018

Stuart Pigott

jamessuckling.com

98 points

Hold on to your hat! This is so concentrated and so filigree. Somewhere in this tightly coiled maelstrom of flavors is a bunch of sweetness. Yet, every time you think you've got it, it slips away. Breathtakingly long and fresh finish. From organically grown grapes. Fair'n Green certification. Drink or hold. Very limited production.

April, 2019

David Schildknecht

Vinous Media

95 points

Haunting, intense scents and luscious palate presence of very ripe pear and quince glazed with red raspberry jelly present an intensification of the characteristics harbored by the corresponding Spätlese. At the same time, there is a flower shop-like mingling of greenery and blossoms that not only adds intrigue but also helps coolingly steer the wine away from any impression of over-ripeness. The feel is glossy, subtly creamy, and the wine’s high acidity is subtly experienced as juicy fresh lime, but more prominently in the sense of animation and the way in which residual sugar is held in check. The superbly-sustained finish delivers wafting, almost ethereal floral essences, rich fruit, and a mouthwatering abundance of salt. “We went through the vineyard at least three times and had to throw a lot away in order to arrive at this little bit of Auslese,” reports Dönnhoff, “but it’s not primarily a botrytis Auslese; rather it reflects grapes of high-ripeness so far advanced that they wouldn’t have worked at all for dry wine. Often we need to harvest for Auslese or even Spätlese early-on,” he adds, striking a familiar theme, “because that’s often when there is the purest botrytis, and because we need to have ample acidity for balance. But in the case of this 2017, you could say that it was picked out more or less in the middle of harvest.”

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About Dönnhoff

Helmut Dönnhoff and son Cornelius make the best wines in the Nahe region and some of the finest anywhere in the world. We can't possibly overstate how much we cherish and revere these wines. They are sheer perfection in their elegantly defined structure and flawless harmony. The epitome of their meticulous winemaking is the Eiswein. Dönnhoff wines have such power and complexity that their signature weightlessness seems nigh on miraculous. One taste and you sense the magic. These wines are on a par with the best of Germany in a very unique way: the sweet wines rival those of Prüm, Loosen and Egon Müller and the dry wines are mentioned in the same breath as luminaries such as Wittmann and Weil. Very few - if any - have this degree of versatility...

About

Cornelius Dönnhoff bears with him the promise and burden of great expectations. Dönnhoff’'s world-renowned Rieslings were first carried into the international limelight by his father, but now it is the son assuming an increasing share of the responsibility for the estate in the small town of Oberhausen on the Nahe (population 400). “No one knows the Nahe, but everyone knows Dönnhoff,” they say in the USA. And with the recent conclusion of his seventh vintage, this young, university-trained viticulturalist has every reason to smile. He won three consecutive Feinschmecker Cups for his dry Riesling collection, and in 2012 the simultaneous distinction of both “Estate of the Year” and “Best White Wine Collection” from the renowned Eichelmann wine guide. In 2014 Stuart Pigott named him Winemaker of the Year in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Cornelius acquired his initial winemaking experience at his parents' estate, followed by an apprenticeship at the Dr. Heger wine estate in Ihringen. University studies in viticultural techniques in Bad Kreuznach came next, followed by time abroad in New Zealand and Australia. In 2007 he assumed the role of cellarmaster at Dönnhoff and currently runs the estate together with his father.